Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said on Fox Footy the rule was currently being discussed by the Competition Committee and the AFL Players Association because of fears players were waiting for opponent’s to dive on the ball and then entering the contest feet-first.

Hawthorn took advantage to kick the first 3.2 of the quarter and close the deficit to two goals.

But Melbourne erased the Hawks’ gain through two Jake Melksham goals and Tom McDonald’s fourth to re-establish a 32 point advantage — and that was all she wrote as the Demons booked a spot in next Saturday’s preliminary final against the West Coast Eagles.

The Demons triumphed by 17 points when the two teams met at Perth Stadium in round 22.

Earlier, a costly Jack Gunston miss and a horror Liam Shiels handball combined to almost end Hawthorn’s resistance in the third quarter.

Gunston had a snap from about 20m out to reduce the deficit to single figures late in the term but it crashed into the post.

“You could almost see the air come out of Jack Gunston,” AFL great Matthew Richardson said.

The Demons went straight down the other end where a Shiels blooper presented Alex Neal-Bullen with the easiest of goals.

It was followed by two more in time-on to Mitch Hannan and Angus Brayshaw as the lead exploded to 32 points with a quarter to play.

Hawthorn will now have to pick up the pieces after a straight-sets finals exit. The absence of key stars Jaeger O’Meara and Ben Stratton explains the result to some degree — and the Hawks’ cause wasn’t helped when star midfielder Tom Mitchell suffered a heavy knock to his shoulder in the first quarter. He battled on to finish with 24 disposals and 10 tackles.

8.50pm

Greats slam diving Demon

Matthew Richardson and Cameron Ling have criticised rising Demons star Clayton Oliver for taking a dive in the second quarter.

Oliver went down easily after copping a front-on bump from Tom Mitchell off the ball, resulting in a free kick reversal and a shot at goal for Melbourne.

“That’s not a good look,” AFL great Matthew Richardson said. “There’s no way known that drops him to the ground.”

Brownlow Medal favourite Tom Mitchell looks like he’ll have to carry a shoulder injury through tonight’s game after being stung by Neville Jetta in the first quarter.

Mitchell was getting a quick kick way when the Dees defender crashed into him — forcing the star midfielder from the ground.

He grimaced in pain on the bench and despite returning to the field looks to be quite sore. “That makes life hard,” commentator Bruce McAvaney said.

It didn’t take Melbourne long to settle after Hawthorn grabbed the initiative early in the first term.

The Hawks kicked the first goal through Ryan Schoenmakers but after a strong opening five minutes the Demons assumed control and answered through Tom McDonald.

McDonald’s first goal saw him become the first Melbourne player to kick 50 majors in a season since Brad Green in 2010 and his second — which came from the goalsquare — put the Dees up by six points.

Most recent MELB players to kick 50 goals in a season2018 TOM McDONALD2010 Brad Green2006 David Neitz2005 Russell Robertson2004 David Neitz2003 David Neitz2002 David Neitz@melbournefc#AFLHawksDees@AFL#AFLFInals

Melbourne hasn’t won a premiership since 1964 but starved Demons supporters will be buoyed by an unusual statistic that surfaced this week.

An inquisitive Demons supporter asked Twitter stats guru Swamp what the longest streak of improving their win total year on year a team had put together.

Melbourne has steadily improved since bottoming out with just two wins in 2013, doubling its total in 2014 before winning seven in 2015, 10 in 2016, 12 while just missing the finals in 2017 and 15 this season.

Swamp revealed the six year-run did match the record shared by Geelong (1958-63) and West Coast (2001-06).

The icing on the cake? Both those teams won premierships in the sixth year of their streak.